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I’d like to start changing my own oil again on my 2008 E320 Bluetec (5000 mile intervals just aren’t cost effective having it done by a mechanic!). Some of the websites list 229.51 and some 229.52 as the preferred specs. The owners manual says 229.51 but I’ve heard there were upgrades.
229.52 has essentially replaced 229.51 It did not exist in 2008 when your owners manual was current.
It is a reformulation aimed at improved fuel economy and will be xW-30 and never xW-40
Your most economical approach is Mercedes part number 001 989 37 01 USA6 (which is clearly produced by Mobil since the bottles are the same). I recently purchased 10 qt from an online Mercedes dealer for a total with freight of $79.75 (mbdirectparts.com) It's what the dealer will now install if you take it there.
ECS had MB oil for $7.83 and offered free shipping at the time, so I bought it as well.
There is a mystery about that oil. It says "Genuine MB oil" and "Made in USA".
Did not know Stuttgart is in USA before
I have about 3000 miles on it in E250 BT and at 5k mark plan to send a sample to Blackstone Lab
There are still 229.51 oils out there. Other than hurting MPG a little does anyone know of any issues with continued use of 229,51 oil in 2008 (pre-DEF) CDI?
There are prior posts on this going back some time. If you call MB Customer Service they will tell you that using the current spec oil (IE-229.52) is optional for older engines. They can be used interchangeably but are not required. You can use the oil spec in your owners manual for that year vehicle. I called MB myself and that was the answer.
Keep in mind that later spec oil isn't necessarily better oil from a wear standpoint. Only lab testing by an independent expert would prove that. It's been reformulated for slightly better gas mileage but the difference to any individual will probably be unnoticeable. They do that to get their fleet mileage numbers up over thousands of vehicles for certification.Your individual driving habits would probably make a bigger difference than using the latest 229.52 spec.
It's all about EPA mileage and cat/dpf pollution; not necessarily better wear for the engine.
Having said that if MB 229.52 oil is cheaper, more readily available to you, or gives you peace of mind use it.
I can’t recall when Mobil1 dropped their line of 5w40 which my truck used for first 100k. I have since tried to keep a 5w40 in it. I used Castrol turbo diesel in it until it became hard to source in the states. Finally I tuned my truck removed the dpf and ran a liqui moly product. I have had blackstone sample for past 80k and my results have been best with this last oil. It is their 5w40 leichlauft oil, but it is a 229.3 oil iirc. I really believe these newer oils are less and less protective of the engine.
If you care about your engine please pay attention to what kajtek1 just said about Delo not being "MB APPROVED" for 229.51. Here's the link to the official MB approvals. Do a careful check with this link on 229.51 oils. (http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevoli...ets-sort1.html)
Also, please take a look at the link I included above from a mechanical engineer, engine builder, and member of the SAE. You will see, as I mentioned in my post above, that HD diesel oils are a very bad choice for passenger car diesels. They are not built to HD diesel standards and carry much higher stress loads on our engines. You should use an MB approved oil, particularly a highly ranked gas/diesel oil from the list above. I would offer the same caution on high zinc motorcycle oils.
Of course the choice is yours. If you're not planning on keeping the vehicle long term it probably doesn't matter. If you want the best for your engine just read as much as possible and then decide for yourself.
Take a look at the official MB fluids link. Here's the official spec for 228.51 directly from MB. Believe whichever source you want. I'll go with the MB site. I have no dog in this hunt....
Chevron is a not a fly by night company. My guess is it passed their testing but it either failed in some MB testing, or more likely the did not want to pay MB for the approval.
Yeah. US sellers are very good in brainwashing their customers, so you have to stay focus.
Other very common misrepresentation is between OE and OEM.
That 1 letter makes whole World difference.
So???? Just what failures have we been seeing due to oil selection?
I understand the timing chain seemed to be a specific manufacturing period. Most cars dealer serviced.
There was also some discussion of seized engines, but no one ever seems to talk about why it happened.
We have not had a lot of people complaining of clogged DPFs. (This is the one that concerns me most with wrong speck diesel oil)
If you read through some of the lengthy engine failure posts you'll probably note two theories on the failures although nothing can be definitively proven. One is that the MB recommended oil change interval is much too long even using MB spec oil. Many people here are suggesting 5-6K oil change intervals. Second, even for those cars that were dealer serviced, the owners suspect either the wrong oil was used or the dealer service wasn't performed. No proof either way but oil is the suspected culprit.
Regarding egr/dpf problems, if you look you'll see posts about either replacing or cleaning the dpf with various aftermarket products. It's a very expensive replacement at the dealer. Often the sensors are the problem.
When couple of topics about seized Bluetec engines would indicate that dealer used wrong oil, I personally have a problem with DPF on my E250 BT.
I have record and previous limo company had to do "in-house" oil changes, while taking car to dealer for bigger things.
So DPF was replaced at 120k miles and now at 180k not only it is clog, but shows mechanical damages (missing squares) and DPF shop after attempt to clean it - concluded it is burned inside.
With $3700 local dealer or $2600 internet dealer pricing I am not happy with the outcome and wonder what could cost the premature problem. Fact is that I had MAF and Ox sensors failures in short time, but now I wonder if wrong oil used in the past could participate in problem.
I put MB oil in it and plan to send samples to Blackstone lab.
Part of the reason that MB recommends their spec'd oil is exactly for that reason; to save the DPF as well as the EPA's demands.
Better off paying for a DPF at 80-100k miles than a gelled engine at the same mileage. My opinion, FWIW.
You can save the dpf or the engine but not both. My last two oil analysis shows a much improved result from moving away from an 229.51 to an 229.5 approved oil. I have to believe Mercedes best interest is not in keeping engines running strong after the warranties expire.
I should be receiving soon another analysis. I am trying to dial in this new oil. Honestly without having samples tested, all comments are speculative at best. I feel the more mileage on the vehicle the better the oil should protect and not the opposite. Which imho is what I feel is happening with the newer spec oils.
Last edited by smiledr996s; 05-31-2018 at 10:31 PM.
I was at Amway "presentation" about 30 years ago and refused to deal with company who use brainwashing to make a sale, but lately we don't have much choices to buy good oil on US market.
I am upset with Mobil1 generating high iron, so how can I buy Amsoil?
Email from Stephen a while back (see attachment as well);
"Here is a new diesel oil with a NOACK of 3.7%. This is a excellent oil for your BlueTec. It looks like the oil companies & Mercedes have finally woken up to oils that can stand up to the Turbo's heat."
So again, due to the high zinc levels, you sacrifice the DPF to save the engine. I can live with that. Oh, and I highly doubt that this particular Amsoil is 229.52 rated. The stuff is rated CK 4, but MB doesn't say if their 229.52 is CK 4. According to Stephen it is, but that's his opinion. One that I trust implicitly, but an opinion nevertheless.
Interestingly enough, this oil is also rated Ford WSS-M2C171-F1, which is the oil Ford now recommends for their diesels....while flipping the bird to the EPA.
Last edited by peter2772000; 06-01-2018 at 05:15 AM.
03-24-2018, 01:07 PM
